


The Orphan and the Pilot

by StarseekerWolf



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Goofy Smiling, Holding Hands, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, i have no idea where this is going to go but let's roll with it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 17:58:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14242737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarseekerWolf/pseuds/StarseekerWolf
Summary: A modern setting of Rogue One, in which Jyn Erso is a self sufficient orphan on the streets and Cassian Andor is a sophisticated private pilot of a powerful world leader. What will happen when their worlds collide?





	The Orphan and the Pilot

Jyn Erso was not to be mistaken for a sorry girl who was down on her luck and hoped to beg for money. Despite her slim frame and thin limbs, she was a fighter who could fend for herself just fine on the streets of New York.

Perhaps that was thanks, in part, to the fact that she had taken karate lessons till the age of ten. Then her parents had disappeared in a mysterious scandal and no one was willing to take her in.

All her relatives made up flimsy excuses for why they didn't need a ten year old girl taking up space and being another mouth to feed. They offered their not so sincere condolences, saying they were sure it wasn't her parents' fault.

That was hard for Jyn to believe. Her mother had always worked hard to provide for her, and her father tucked her into bed every night, telling her how much he loved her. They wouldn't have left her unless they wanted to.

And that was perhaps the hardest thing of all to accept.

She quickly learned that the streets were a hard place to live, especially if you didn't know how to play it nice. Despite her fighting experience, there were gangs of men much tougher and rougher than her that ruled the dark alleyways and hidden nooks. If she wasn't careful, she would find herself face down in the ditch one morning, and she would deserve it.

_Not that I don't deserve anything coming my way_ , she thought as she swung herself up and over the fence that sat between her living quarters and her main source of food. _Out here, it's every man for himself if you don't have a gang to watch your back_. And Jyn knew better than to invest in that kind of trouble. With gangs like the ones on the New York streets, a literal backstab or some other manner of horrible betrayal was right around the corner for those who couldn't stay at the top of the food chain. And no matter her capabilities, Jyn was smart enough to realize that no one would take a girl seriously.

She pulled her worn sweater tighter around herself as she moved towards the restaurant's back parking lot. The scents had long since faded from the piece of clothing, but she could still clearly picture her father wrapping it around her shoulders on her first day of fifth grade.  
"It's big on you, huh?" he'd laughed, that rumbling chortle that had warmed the hearts of everyone he'd encountered. "Ah, well. It'll keep you warm for a long time then."

It was perhaps her only tie she had to her old life, besides the black hairband that kept her ponytail secure against her skull. Even that was stretching thin, and was liable to snap any day. She wasn't sure what she would do then.

Jyn looked left to right constantly as she made her way towards the trash cans and dumpsters. She had taken the time to memorize when the trash was taken out, and it wouldn't be for another hour.

Keeping your dignity is hard when you depend on trash scraps for survival, but Jyn managed. She had to.

Her nose involuntarily wrinkled as she leaned over the edge and began to rifle through the pile of bags.

She had learned to feel the bottom of the bags first, to see if there were any grease stains. That meant there was likely chicken or some manner of fried food inside that would be the equivalent of a feast for her.

Today was not her lucky day, though, for there were no such stains on any of the top bags, and jumping into the dumpster itself was somewhat of a last resort.  
Jyn tightened her ponytail before waving her hand about and randomly selecting a bag. She pulled it towards her by the ties and opened it up. When she saw what was mixed inside, she sighed with relief.

There was some leftover salad pretty close to the top. The leaves were somewhat scattered, but she was confident that she could make it work. The salad dressing was still present, and while it was stained by some coffee, it would be fine.

The real jewel, though, were the bits of chicken that seemed to have come with the salad. It was grilled chicken, which explained the lack of grease stains, but that was even better. Staying healthy was just as important as staying fed.

Jyn raised her eyes to the sky and thanked whatever god might be listening before pulling a plastic bag from her pocket and shoving the salad leaves inside.

The slimy texture was no good for her comfort, but she tried to ignore that part. She focused on getting as many bits of chicken as she could and making a quick getaway. Once she had enough for a suitable dinner, she resealed the trash bag and stole back to the fence.

Climbing back over was always a bit trickier without the use of both her hands, but she somehow did it-like she always did-and made it back safely to the other side.

Her living space was nothing fancy, but she supposed she was more fortunate than most homeless people. She stayed in an abandoned structure with concrete walls. There was a sizable hole in the roof, granted, but she had learned that it made a great opportunity to collect water, so there was a bucket placed under it at all times.

Her bed consisted of a pile of blankets in the driest corner, and a few very ratty pillows that she had taken from her home, which had been long since sold to whoever had the courage to buy it.

Then there was her drawstring bag, which was filled with her most prized possessions: a stuffed rabbit that she'd acquired on her fifth birthday, a silver charm bracelet that her mother had given her when she was eight, and a bottle of scented beads from her parents' bedroom. If she uncapped it, she could still get a whiff of the sweet citrus smell before quickly capping it again to preserve it.

Jyn settled herself down on the quilts and dug into her stolen food.

The leaves were soggy at that point, and the coffee gave it a very bitter aftertaste, but the chicken was good. It hadn't been long since it was thrown out, because it wasn't too hard or too mushy. She had made a pretty good score in her opinion. Not enough to completely fill her belly, but enough to keep the hunger at bay for a few more hours.

When she was done, she tossed the plastic bag to the side with the fleeting thought of exchanging it for a new one later. Then she curled up on the quilts, determined to get some sleep before she had to brave another day in the morning.

This was far from ideal, she knew that. If she had it her way, she'd be living in a mansion with maids and cooks and butlers and all the luxury she could imagine.

But any possibility of that sort of life was gone. It had been snatched away by fate, who seemed to find it amusing to watch a teenager's daily struggle. While other girls her age were fussing over prom dresses and finals and boyfriends, she was fighting to find food every night and keep herself from freezing to death.

Life had not treated Jyn Erso fairly, but she had come to accept that that was the way things were, and that they weren't going to change any time soon.

In the meantime, she would continue to scavenge for food and look over her shoulder for enemies. She would continue to dig through dumpsters and glance side to side like her life depended on it. She would continue to slink back to this sorry place which, despite its terrible conditions, was her home.

If she closed her eyes and let everything melt away, she could pretend that this place was just like home.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to hear some constructive feedback! Thanks!


End file.
